Missionary Chris Julian isn’t interested in citywide evangelism or mass conversions, and his volunteers won’t have a typical missions experience. He simply wants them to make friends.

When Julian first began Zoe Church, a ministry to reach the 1 million college students in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he held Sunday night worship services, evangelism events and Christian neighborhood parties. Now, Julian does something a little more radical—and a lot simpler.

“Jesus didn’t come and establish four walls,” he said. “His first words were, ‘Come, follow Me,’ and His last words were, ‘Now, go.’ So I believe church is a verb.”

Living in one of the world’s largest cities, most university students in Sao Paulo are driven by materialism and have mixed religious beliefs. Many hold to the idea of complete tolerance and believe all religions are equally valid. To change these perceptions, Julian knows that standard street-corner evangelism won’t work. Instead, he asks his ministry team and volunteers to go into the city and make friends.

“Our way of doing things is so simple,” he said. “We go on campuses and make friends with people, hang out with people. I encourage [my team] to get out in the city, because that’s what Jesus did. Take a cell phone and get lost. There are no real limits. Go into their world and win the right to be heard.”

Zoe members spend most of their time just being with Brazilian students on campuses, in cafés, in homes or at concerts. Instead of immediately presenting the gospel, they spend time really getting to know the people and creating lasting friendships, showing God’s love through their lives instead of just their words.

“So often, we think we have to go out prepared with our tracts,” Julian said, “but this generation is like wood; it’s hard to get through. These are normal people, and they’re searching for truth. They just need to see people live it out. They don’t need people to come and preach to them. Just live it out. Simple.”

Love Is Contagious
Once a week, Zoe members stand on one of the city’s busiest avenues holding signs advertising free hugs. The idea of receiving a free hug from a complete stranger gets many different reactions, but inevitably people start asking questions. Some Brazilians have picked up signs and joined them.

Julian and the Zoe team also throw block parties for students. The music is clean, but it isn’t Christian. There’s no sermon and no call to salvation, but Zoe members use these events to get to know people on a personal level, leading to deeper friendships and easier, more natural conversations.

“If we invite them to a church party and started preaching, they’d never come and they’d never hear,” Julian said, “but if we have a party that we control, they’ll listen. We’ll have non-believers come over and say, ‘We thought you were a church!’ Then we’re able to explain. We win the right to be heard, and that’s what it boils down to.”

Country Boy in a Big City
When Zoe volunteer Caleb Smith arrived in Sao Paulo, a city of 23 million, he was completely out of his element. The self-described “country boy” from Tulsa, Okla., had no idea how to relate to Brazilian students whose view of life was so different from his.

“They want to go to school to get a better job to make more money. That’s their whole purpose in life,” said Smith. “The more money they have, the happier they think they’ll be.”

However, God had a plan. Smith was able to connect to Brazilians through volleyball, which he had played in his hometown. From there, he made strong friendships that opened doors for sharing the gospel.

Smith began attending university classes with his Brazilian friends and sat reading a Christian book or his Bible. Once, a friend asked if he could read Smith’s Bible to see if he understood the English. Smith shared his favorite verses with him and realized God could use the simplest connections to bridge a vast cultural gap.

“I’d never been on a mission trip or out of the United States before I went to Brazil,” Smith said. “I had the mentality of, ‘How am I going to be effective?’ It wasn’t until I got there that I realized it doesn’t matter how old you are or where you are in life. If you accept God’s call and do it, you’ll have no regrets about it. Period.”

The Story of Zoe
Julian and his team are always looking for volunteers God may be calling to work with Zoe. Through a project known as OneStudent—part of a broader missions emphasis called OneLife—U.S. college students can get involved by praying, giving finacially or going to serve with the Zoe team. Student groups and volunteers can plug into Zoe throughout the year, but there’s an ongoing need for several volunteers to serve one semester or longer.

As the Zoe team prays for more workers, Julian realizes Sao Paulo isn’t the only place students need Christ, of course. He prays the story of Zoe will encourage other student workers, wherever they serve.

In the beginning, Julian and his wife, Melody, struggled to get a handle on reaching Brazilian students, but their ministry began to take off after Julian attended a conference featuring Australian missiologist Michael Frost.

“God used that training to open my eyes about how to be missional, intentional and really to go where people are,” Julian said. From there, the Julians and three Brazilian-Christian students started studying the Book of Acts. As they prayed about how to reach Sao Paulo’s students, “God put it on our hearts to start a church in our home,” recalled Melody.

Today, outside the Julians’ Sao Paulo home, a wooden plaque hangs above the front door. It’s not a house number or a welcome sign. It’s simply three Greek letters: ZOE—meaning “abundant life.”

“With much fear and trembling, because we didn’t have a clue what we were doing, we began Zoe,” said Melody, “and God has blessed beyond our wildest dreams.”

For more information on how your students can get involved in OneStudent or other global projects, visit OneLifeMatters.org.